Portugal 100 billion Ireland 200 billion Italy 600 billion Greece 150 billion Spain 280 billion UK 850 billion Hungary 100 billion Romania 50 billion Bulgaria 50 billion Total 2.4 TRILLION EURO
The United States public debt is the sum of all securities issued by the United States Treasury and is also referred to as the national debt.[1] State and Local Government Series securities are issued by state and local governments and are not part of the United States government debt.[2] The national debt is presented by the United States Treasury as "Debt Held by the Public" which includes all debt instruments issued by the United States Treasury that are held by institutions outside the United States Government itself (specifically excluding intra-governmental obligations such as the Social Security Trust fund), and then the "Gross Debt" which is the sum of all securities issued by the United States Treasury including the intra-government obligations.[1] At the end of first quarter of 2010, the gross debt was 87.3% of GDP (a measure of the size of the economy), composed of debt held by the public (56.6%) and of intra-governmental debt (44.4%).[3] Within the remainder of this article the phrase "Public Debt" is employed as a shorthand for "Debt Held by the Public". The annual government deficit or surplus refers to the cash difference between government receipts and spending ignoring intra-governmental transfers. The gross debt increases or decreases as a result of this unified budget deficit or surplus. However, there is certain spending (supplemental appropriations) that add to the gross debt but are excluded from the deficit. The total debt has increased over $500 billion each year since FY 2003, with increases of $1 trillion in FY2008 and $1.9 trillion in FY2009.[4] Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac obligations excluded See also: Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Although not included in the figures reported by the government, the U.S. government has moved to more explicitly support the soundness of obligations of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, starting in July via the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, and the September 7, 2008 Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) conservatorship of both government sponsored enterprises (GSEs). The on- or off-balance sheet obligations of those two independent GSEs was just over $5 trillion at the time the conservatorship was put in place.[12] The government accounts for these corporations as if they are unconnected to its balance sheet. The U.S. Treasury contracted at the inception of the conservatorship to receive US$1 billion in senior preferred shares, and a warrant for 79.9% of the common shares from each GSE, as a fee to fund, as needed, up to US$100 billion total for each GSE (in exchange for more senior preferred stock), in order to maintain solvency and adequate capital ratios at the GSEs, thereby supporting all senior (normal) liabilities, subordinated indebtedness, and guarantees of the two firms. Some observers see this as an effective nationalization of the companies that ultimately places taxpayers at risk for all their liabilities[13][14] The net exposure to taxpayers is difficult to determine at the time of the takeover and depends on several factors, such as declines in housing prices and losses on mortgage assets in the future.[15] The Congressional Budget Office has recommended incorporating the assets and liabilities of the two companies into the federal budget due to the degree of government control over the entities.[16] The 5-year credit default swap spread for U.S. treasuries had risen to 18 basis points per annum as of 9 September 2008 as a result of market perception regarding the increased debt load of the government.[16] On January 8, 2009, Moody's said that only 4 of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) may be able to maintain minimum required capital levels and the U.S. government may need to put some of them into conservatorship. [4] According to Bloomberg, the FHLB is the largest U.S. borrower after the federal government. [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...nnie_Mae_and_Freddie_Mac_obligations_excluded ;=)
Maybe we should start some Treasury dumping rumors by the Chinese, Japanese, Uk, Oil Exporters, Brazil and Hong Kong at the same time? http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
The amazing thing about the PIGS, excluding Greece, is the lack of a risk premium with their sovereign debt. Spain 4%, Portugal 4.50% etc...
Are there aliens on the asteroid that will buy? What kind of market is available on the asteroid? Can we negotiate with the asteroid, so it doesn't hit us? What time Friday? (I want to be able to pull out of the market at the right time on Friday.) Oh forget it!!!! This has already been priced into the markets...wait...does the asteroid meet expectations or does it exceed whisper numbers? Boy, I am REALLY getting confused...does the asteroid know we are in the middle of a recovery? Can the asteroid wait until next quarter, because this won't make Q1 numbers? Thanks, gastropod